8 Reasons To Send Your Teen To NFTY Programs

NFTY works hard to partner with the parents of NFTYites in order to provide the best experience for all of our participants. Providing healthy and safe environments where your child can grow Jewishly is our primary goal, and we seek to create these meaningful, fun and transformative experiences for every participant, whether it’s their first or their 50th event.

So why send your teen to NFTY? Here are eight simple reasons:

Support: Young people need to be surrounded by adults who love, care about them, appreciate, accept, and include them. NFTY Staff guide and support them at every step.

Empowerment: Young people need to be valued by their community and have opportunities to contribute to others. For this to occur, they must feel safe. From mixers to the variety of programming, the teens contribute and feel safe and appreciated.

Boundaries and Expectations: Young people need the positive influence of adults who encourage them to be and to do their best as well as to know that what adults expect of them is reasonable, clear, and consistent, and that adults believe that teens can meet higher expectations. NFTY Staff and Temple Youth Group Advisors help them understand the programming expectations, and encourage and guide them in how best to lead.

Constructive Use of Time: Young people need enriching opportunities for growth through creative activities, youth programs, congregational involvement, and time at home. NFTY events offer numerous opportunities for creativity and involvement with Jewish community.

Commitment to Learning: Young people need to develop a lifelong commitment to education and learning. A desire for success can also mean believing in their abilities. Programming that the teens develop are often educationally and Jewishly based.

Positive Values: Young people need to develop strong values that guide their choices. These include caring, honesty, integrity, justice and others. Social action and Jewish ethics are integral pieces of NFTY programming and events.

Social Competencies: Young people need skills and competencies that equip them to make positive choices, to build healthy relationships, and to succeed in life. Using mixers, small and large group interactions, and leadership development experiences the teens are guided in their social skills and making sacred choices.

Positive Identity: Young people need a strong sense of their own power, purpose and promise. They need to believe in their own self-worth, in their ability to make good things happen. As the leaders and creators of policies and programs of NFTY, the teens are able to develop their own sense of power and self-worth.